by Cameron Watson
Took me a while but finally, after loving the rockers from Cambridge for four years and getting the chance to chat with frontman Mikey for Brig’s March edition, I got to see them live – and f**k me was it worth the wait!
Although the guys have been around since 2009/2010 they are still relatively unknown outside of the rock community. So here’s a little background before we delve into the live set.
Mallory Knox are a five piece rock band from Cambridge, UK, who all came together from local bands in their area. The name originated from the film Natural Born Killers. The band wanted a character name with a dark edge to it and originally had their heart set on Dorian Gray (before the film of the same name came out) and so chose Mallory Knox instead.
The band then found their feet in the local scene before extensively touring and becoming the force to be reckoned with they are today.
Arriving at the venue there was such a great buzz about the crowd and openers Fatherson really set the tone. A band from Scotland – more precisely, Kilmarnock – playing to a Scottish crowd was always going to be a great way to open a gig. Their sound is more mellow compared Mallory’s, but the set was still lively and got the crowd going.
Lonely the Brave then took the stage. Before the gig, I had only ever heard their sound in passing and it is rather interesting. It takes more of a laid back style but still heavy, replacing hard-hitting bass and drums for a more sombre take with an emotional edge. The set may have not been as rocky as I had anticipated but still was something interesting to experience. Then, the main event!
Mallory came out to ‘Giving it Up’, a song about packing things in when they become too much and it rocked the entire crowd. The track was the perfect choice to open the show as it is hard-hitting, fast and just damn brutal.
From there, the band played a multitude of different tracks from all three of their studio albums, including tracks from ‘Signals’ (‘Beggars’, ‘Lighthouse’) and ‘Asymmetry’ (‘Getaway’, ‘Ghost in the Mirror’).
As it was the ‘Wired’ tour, this is where the band focused. However you couldn’t tell this was the first time trying the new tracks in front of a crowd. The entire band vibed off of the crowd incredibly, amping everyone up and having casual banter with a select few.
For me personally, hearing two of the older songs, ‘Beggars’ and ‘Getaway’, were a huge highlight. Both of these songs hold a massive place in my heart and being able to sing, well…scream, every lyric back at Mikey was such a beautiful moment. ‘Beggars’ is the heavier of the two opening with a high guitar rift before crashing into the main body while ‘Getaway’ starts off a more sombre before picking up.
From the new album ‘Falling in Love’ was a lovely moment of calm in the storm that was the rest of the set.
A song about screwing up love that brought everyone in the crowd to a standstill, emotionally singing along.
Straight after that Mikey told every to get down low, exclaiming “If it’s good enough for Slipknot it’s good enough for f*****g us”, which I personally found hilarious.
Mallory then proceeded to play ‘Lucky Me’, a song, according to Mikey, about the “Second best thing you can do in the bedroom after tacos and Netflix, and if you don’t get what I’m on about you’re too young for this convert.” The beat kicked in and everyone jumped and lost it. It was a mental 3 minutes 21 seconds.
The set then closed with ‘Better off Without You’, a song that, to me, is about trying to leave someone behind that you just can’t turn away from. I didn’t expect it to be the closing song but something felt just right closing in that fashion. The song is rather jivey compared to most rock music but it’s something that worked brilliant and a great vibe was built between the crowd and the band.
Overall, the gig was relentless, powerful, crazy and everything a rock and roll band should have.
Mallory, it may have been four years in the making but you guys live have made me proud to call myself a fan!
Featured image credit: Pexels.com
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